Despite Record Builder Sentiment, Housing Starts Collapse Led By Rental Unit Crash Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2020 - 08:39 After yesterday's record-high homebuilder sentiment, it may seem odd that analysts' expectations were for a small drop MoM in Housing Starts (and only a modest rise MoM in Building Permits) in August. July's massive rebounds in both housing market measures may just have been the peak in the 'v'-shaped pent-up supply as Housing Starts plunged 5.1% MoM (-0.6% MoM exp) and Building Permits dropped 0.9% MoM (versus +2.0% MoM exp)... Source: Bloomberg While single-family home starts rose, the rental units crashed in August... 4.1% jump in single family units from 981K to 1021M 25.4% drop in multi-family units from 503K to 375K Similar pattern played out in Permits with rental units crashing... 6.0% jump in single-family units to 1.036MM, highest since 2007 -17.4% drop in multi-family (rental) units to 381K Finally, as a reminder, while homebuilders are exuberant about the future, homebuyers (despite a rebound) remain notably less enthused... Source: Bloomberg No matter how much the homebuilders build, perhaps the buyers won't come this time?